A King Who Sold Himself

From: Messages of God's Love: 1939

1 Kings 21:25²⁵But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. (1 Kings 21:25)

This king of Israel had a costly palace, made with ivory, so he would have been called a great and rich man; yet Ahab really was a slave, for he “did sell himself to work wickedness.” Sin was his master. What price do you think he received when he sold himself to do sin? Sins were all he received, and they did not make him happy.

Ahab knew God’s power and goodness, but would not honor Him. He built temples for the idol Baal, and taught the people to worship there. God sent men to tell him the right ways, but he would not listen to them.

Ahab’s wife, Queen Jezebel, had come from a city of idols, and when she heard of the Lord, she did not believe in Him, and many times tried to kill those who spoke for Him. She was even more wicked than the king.

Once Ahab wanted a vineyard which was near his palace, but belonged to a man who said he could not sell it even for a better one, because it was the land which had been given to his family when they came to Canaan. God had said no one should sell or give that land to another family (Num. 36:7⁷So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. (Numbers 36:7)).

Ahab made himself very unhappy because he could not have the land; he would not even eat his meal. The queen said she would get the land for him, and she did, but in a dreadful way, by having false stories told of the owner, and hang him stoned to death.

God saw that wicked deed, and sent Elijah to tell the king that he and all his family should lose their high place and die with no one to care for them. And for a time Ahab seemed sorry for his sins (1 Kings 21).

When enemies from other lands came to light against Ahab and the army of Israel, God helped them win. Once, the heathen men said, “God is the God of the hills, but He is not the God of the valleys”. Then God helped Israel win in the valley also, although the enemy had ever so many more soldiers (1 Kings 20:28²⁸And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (1 Kings 20:28)).

At last King Ahab and another king wanted to go to war, but first asked the prophets if they should go. One man of God told Ahab that when the battle was over Israel would be “like sheep without a shepherd.” Ahab did not like that sang, and had the prophet put in prison, and went to battle anyway. But he was wounded by an arrow, and died that same night. So the prophet’s words were true, Israel was without a master (1 Kings 22:1-40¹And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. ²And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. ³And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? ⁴And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramoth-gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. ⁵And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the Lord to day. ⁶Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. ⁷And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might inquire of him? ⁸And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. ⁹Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah. ¹⁰And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. ¹¹And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the Lord, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them. ¹²And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliver it into the king's hand. ¹³And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good. ¹⁴And Micaiah said, As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak. ¹⁵So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. ¹⁶And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord? ¹⁷And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace. ¹⁸And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil? ¹⁹And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. ²⁰And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. ²¹And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him. ²²And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. ²³Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee. ²⁴But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee? ²⁵And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. ²⁶And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son; ²⁷And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. ²⁸And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you. ²⁹So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. ³⁰And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle. ³¹But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel. ³²And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out. ³³And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. ³⁴And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded. ³⁵And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. ³⁶And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country. ³⁷So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria. ³⁸And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armor; according unto the word of the Lord which he spake. ³⁹Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ⁴⁰So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead. (1 Kings 22:1‑40)).

Sometime after that, the man whom God had said would punish the family of Ahab for their awful sins, came to their city. Queen Jezebel had not believed God’s words, and did not fear the messenger, so she first vainly painted her face, then called out boldly against the man. But her own servants threw her from the palace window, so she was killed without anyone to pity, and near the very place where she had ordered the man stoned. So the prophet’s words were true of her, also (1 Kings 21:23²³And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. (1 Kings 21:23), and 2 Kings 9:30-37³⁰And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window. ³¹And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master? ³²And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs. ³³And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under foot. ³⁴And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king's daughter. ³⁵And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. ³⁶Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel: ³⁷And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel. (2 Kings 9:30‑37)).

This is a very sad story, but we know God has told it for a warning to us. It is like a red light on the highway which warns us of danger; that we should not sin by unbelief of any of God’s words.

Find the name of the man who had the vineyard, and would not disobey God’s law (1 Kings 21:1-4¹And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. ²And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. ³And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. ⁴And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. (1 Kings 21:1‑4)).

ML 04/09/1939

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